


Ready to Go [Get me Outta My Mind]

by iAmCC



Series: the Super Seven (the Great Adventurers of Hawkins, Indiana) [1]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: BAMF El Hopper, BAMF Max Mayfield, BAMF Savannah Ulysses, F/M, If y'all want a slowburn this is not the fic for you, Lumax cuz yeet, MAX IS MY QUEEN, No no no put that candlestick down weapons are for grown-ups, Precious Mike Wheeler, Savannah is the OC i need to exist, She's 007 for a reason, Teagan isn't mine, What are you doing?, Will you adorable bean you, Ya welcome, dustin is a cinnabon who needs love, sweetie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-08
Updated: 2018-05-14
Packaged: 2019-05-04 04:48:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,168
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14585304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iAmCC/pseuds/iAmCC
Summary: The gate is closed, but the story isn't over here in Hawkins: Steve's still pining after Nancy, Hopper's in denial, Mike's borderline hallucinating, Billy's back and worse than ever, and an odd new girl shows up with a number tattooed on her arm...(Also known as 'Stranger Things 3: Quack Quack, everyone's screwed.')





	1. THE NEW GIRL (pt. 1)

_October 22, 1971_

_Hawkins, Indiana_

Dr. Martin Brenner smiled wickedly as he carried the newborn into the nursery. His plan was working perfectly. Baby girl Ives would be raised under _his_ care, and all he had to do was fake a miscarriage.

It was almost _too_ easy.

He placed the wailing baby girl in the cradle, nodding at the nurse in the room. "Make sure she stays alright. I have to go deal with the mother." The nurse nodded.

Brenner made his way through the halls again, stopping at the OR door.

"Well?" He asked the doctor leaving the room. He smirked and nodded

"It was all just a bad dream." Brenner's evil grin widened. "Perfect." He turned on his heel and left. Nothing, absolutely nothing would stop him now…

Unbeknownst to him, of course, a little boy with a small tattoo on his wrist reading 002 was slipping away from the lab on a bus to Chicago. A woman next to him attempted to make small talk with the boy.

"Where are you headed, sweetie?"

The boy shrugged. "Home, probably." He shivered with cold under the small blanket he had stolen from the lab he came from, rubbing his tattoo.

* * *

_**CHAPTER ONE** _

_**THE NEW GIRL** _

* * *

Mike Wheeler ran around the basement, tossing pillows around and cursing. "NANCY!" He called up the stairs. "WHERE'S MY WALKMAN?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Nancy called back. "CHECK YOUR ROOM!"

"I DID!" He screamed in response. He swiveled around to reveal the object in question sitting in his Dungeon Master seat at the D&D table. "GOT IT!"

He ran up the stairs and past his mother. "Mike? Where are you going?"

He turned to look at Karen. "It's Friday, mom! The Party and I are sleeping over at Will's!"

"Oh, ok. Well, be back by noon tomorrow!" She turned and headed back into the kitchen.

Mike nodded. "Will do!" Out the front door he ran.

He hopped onto his bike, backpack around his shoulders, and pedaled down the street, nearly running over the neighbor's cat. "Sorry, Piglet!" He called after the ginger cat, who licked her paw contentedly.

In the Sinclair household, Lucas was engaged in a yelling match with his sister, Erica.

"For the last time, I don't have your lame-ass nerd book!" She rolled her eyes.

"And for the last time, it's not a _book,_ it's a _manual!_ And it's gone. And you constantly go into my room and mess with my stuff. It's not my fault you have a track record!"

Erica rolled her eyes again. "Whatever nerd. Maybe it's on the table."

Lucas raced into the kitchen. Of course it was here NOW. It wasn't five minutes ago, which he completely blamed on Erica. She liked hiding things about the house and making Lucas think he had lost his mind. He rolled his eyes and shoved the book into his knapsack.

"Son of a bitch. Son of a bitch!" Dustin raced through his house, tripping over Tews, his mom's cat.

"Dusty! Be careful!" Claudia picked up her cat. "You could have hurt Tews!"

Dustin lifted himself from the ground. "Sorry mom. Where'd I leave my backpack? Steve's coming over in 5 minutes to take me to Will's, and I can't find it anywhere!" He looked behind the couch, snaking an arm behind the cushions. He shook his head. Nothing. Swiveling around, he noticed it hanging off the back of the chair. "Here it is. Gotta go, love you, bye!"

His mom blew a kiss to him, but he was already out the door, sitting on the porch to wait for Steve.

Max shoved some clothes into her backpack, trying to ignore her mother and stepfather yelling. Thank god Billy was gone. She didn't know _how_ he had gotten into UCLA, but she wasn't complaining. At least he wasn't here anymore to be a di-

_Ring Ring. Ring Ring. Ring Ring._

Max rushed out of her room and picked up the phone before her parents could. She had a pretty good idea of who was calling, but she still asked. "Mayfield-Hargrove residence, who is this?"

"Hey," a familiar voice said on the other end of the line. "It's me."

Max melted slightly. She was still her badass self, but if anyone could bring out the lovestruck teenager in her, it was Lucas Sinclair. "Hey," she smiled. "How are you?"

"I'm good," she could hear his grin. "Packing for the sleepover at Will's. He told me Mike and Dustin are already on their way there."

"Shit," Max frowned. "I'm not even done packing."

Lucas laughed. "Neither am I, but Dustin's the closest to Will's house, and Mike's just dying to see El, so."

"True," Max mused. "I should be there in a half hour or so, I just gotta finish packing up."

"Need a ride? My dad's driving me, he could pick you up if you want?"

Max considered. "Um, could you just come around the back? Just, my stepdad is home, so…" She trailed off. They both knew that Neil Hargrove was a racist ass.

"Of course, easy-peasy," Lucas cringed slightly. _Why couldn't he ever just sound cool?_

Max smirked. "So, stalker, is that all you called to ask?"

Lucas fidgeted. "Not exactly. Um.. I was wondering.. So… the Fall Festival, at school, is coming up... I wanted to know, like, if you wanted to, like, um, you know…"

"Are you asking me on a date, stalker?"

"Yeah.. Yeah. I am!"

Max's stomach did a flip-flop, much to her surprise. _Emotion? That's new,_ Half of her bairn said. The other half was squealing in delight.

"I'd love to."

"Great! So, like, I'll see you in.. 15 minutes?"

"Sounds good. See ya then, stalker."

He chuckled. "Later, Mad Max."

They both put down the phone and pumped their fists in the air. Unbeknownst to them, they whisper-shouted "Yes!" in unison. Max hurried back into her room to finish packing.

Jane "El" Hopper was sitting calmly on her bed, red backpack in hand, waiting for Mike. She was still getting used to her room in their new house. They had just moved only months ago, at the beginning of the Summer, into a three-bedroom house. Usually, Will stayed in the third bedroom, (because Joyce was staying over more and more often) and El had helped Hopper paint it a spring green.

El's room however, was completely _El_. It was painted a light sky blue, with white accents all around. She had a wooden dresser in the corner, with a large mirror above, surrounded by Christmas lights that Joyce had given her. A double bed was tucked into another corner, covered by a yellow-and-pink comforter, with white pillows and a purple blanket at the foot of the bed. Next to the bed was a white nightstand, with a single drawer that El kept some notebooks in. On top of the nightstand rested two pictures: One of El and Max, making silly faces at the camera that they had taken that Summer. The other one was a shot Jonathan had at Mike's birthday party over the Summer. El and Mike sat on the front porch of Will's house, hands entwined, El's head resting on Mike's shoulder. El didn't know that Jonathan had taken the picture until he handed it to her two weeks later, fully developed and framed.

El also had multiple pictures of her and her friends on her dresser: A bunch of cheap photo booth pictures of her, Max, and Will. A shot taken by Mrs. Byers of the Party on the first day of high school. A picture of El and Max diving into the lake at the same time. Surrounding her small mirror that topped the dresser were even more polaroids. The one of Max and Lucas, arms around each other, while Dustin struck a ridiculous pose in the background. One of Will, Jonathan, Nancy, and Mike at Will's birthday. The full party on Halloween. The party at the arcade. The party at the Snow Ball. Just El and Mike, arms around each other, on top of the world, with a "Snow Ball '84" banner behind them, and the party with Steve, looking cool in Ray-Bans and spiked bat tossed over his shoulder. El and Dustin photobombing Nancy and Mike. But her favorite of them all was the one with Mike and her, arms thrown around Mike, her kissing him on the cheek. That, and the one of her, Joyce, Hopper, and Will on the first day of school. They were kind of becoming a proper family, thought El. A knock at the door disrupted her thoughts.

She flew down the stairs and threw open the front door. Mike was standing before her, one hand resting on his bike. "Dad! Mike's here!" El called.

"Don't be stupid! Love you!" Yelled Hopper from upstairs

"Bye!" El hollered back. She hopped onto the back of Mike's bike and they rode down the street.

* * *

Will was sitting on the couch, watching _Punky Brewster,_ when Dustin pounded on the front door. "Will!" He called. "I'm here! Open up!"

Will dashed to the door, throwing it open with a wide smile on his face. "Hey!" He looked over Dustin's shoulder, seeing Steve salute him, then drive away. "How's your mom?"

Dustin raised an eyebrow. "She's good, why?"

Will stifled a laugh. "No, the other one, the one that just dropped you off."

Dustin rolled his eyes. "Dude. For the last time, Steve is _not_ my mom!"

"Then why'd he drop you off on the first day of school instead of your mom?"

"B-because! Um.. my mom had work, and.. You know! He was just… doing her a favor!"

Will nodded skeptically. "Sure, buddy. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

A half hour later, everyone was gathered at the Byers house. El and Max were chatting happily about the newest episode of _Days Of Our Lives._ Somehow, El had gotten Max addicted to soap operas, and Max had made El fall in love with horror movies, surprising everyone else, who had thought that El would hate the gory and intense scenes of _The Shining_ and _Nightmare on Elm Street._ Instead, she found them amusing. She and Max would often laugh about what normal people saw as scary: creepy dolls, men with axes, tinkling piano music. It was humorous, compared to Dungeons & Dragons creatures come to life.

Lucas and Dustin were arguing about who would win in a fight: Luke Skywalker or a demodog. Will weighed in on the conversation, saying that unless Luke acted quickly, he'd be a demosnack, but Lucas thought that he could use the Force to kill it, much like Eleven had months earlier.

Mike was helping Joyce out by ordering pizza, audibly getting annoyed with the teenager on the other line.

"No, no, I said _two extra large,_ one with extra mozzarella and ham, one with pepperoni and hot sausage, and a BLT with a side of fries. No, _extra mozzarella_. Yes. Thank you." He practically slammed the phone down, taking a seat next to El. "Why is it that whenever I call, I _always_ get deaf Harry?"

El raised an eyebrow. "He's not deaf. I got pizza from there last week."

Mike shrugged. "I know. He's just really annoying, he pretends he can't hear you so he doesn't get in trouble when he messes up your order." The party rolled their eyes in unison.

Max played with the strings on her hoodie. "So… now what? I know you didn't make a new campaign, so D&D is out.."

Lucas slumped in his seat. "For real? I nearly strangled my sister looking for my freakin' manual. I didn't know I wasn't gonna need it!"

Mike frowned. "I'm sorry Lucas… I'm gonna try to finish it by next weekend."

Dustin shrugged. "There's always monopoly."

El furrowed her brows. "What's monopoly?"

The party exchanged smiles. This was going to be fun.

* * *

Steve Harrington cruised down Sycamore Street, making sure to dodge the random trash can in the middle of the street. He rolled his eyes beneath his Ray-Bans. Who put _that_ there? He sighed. All of the crazy old people lived on Sycamore. He didn't _have_ to drive down this street, but anything to avoid going past Nancy's house. He was already weird about dropping off the tiny Wheeler there after school sometimes. But Dustin insisted. And it's not like Steve could say _no._ The kid was like his favorite of them all. Besides the Girl with Two Names, who he sometimes ended up tutoring. Because she didn't really talk as much as the others. He also liked the Carrot Top and the Quiet One, as he referred to them, but both of their brothers were people to be avoided. Billy because he was an abusive asshole (thank god he was at college or whatever now), but Jonathan was to be avoided because… well, because of the same reason he had a hard time dropping off little Wheeler.

...Nancy.

He shook all thoughts of the girl he used to love from his head. He _had_ to get over her. At the same time, he wasn't King Steve anymore. It didn't feel right to just pick up some random chick. Because that chick wouldn't be Nancy.

Plus, he was now of age, so the number of girls he could hook up with, legally, had dropped from 100 to about 30.

And once again, _none of them were Nancy._

Even if it _was_ bullshit, even if she _didn't_ love him…

He still loved her. I mean, he didn't love her anymore! That's not what he meant at all! He meant.. That like, even while she was in denial about him, he still had loved her, to the point that he was prepared to give up college to stay with her. He was trying to get over her, _still._ It had been a year. He needed to get a grip, he thought to himself as he cruised down the street.

He sort of wished he had stayed with Dustin at the Quiet One's house. But what if Jonathan was there, or worse, _Nancy_?

Looking around, he realized it was a Friday night, he was single with nothing to do, and he wanted to hang out with his kids.

Pulling a u-ey, he headed right back down Sycamore to the Byers's house.

* * *

Hopper sat at the table with a cup of coffee and a book. He was _planning_ on relaxing a bit and reading while his daughter was out, but instead he found himself eye wide, staring at his newspaper. _**TEN YEAR OLD FOUND IN ABANDONED BUS STATION IN CHICAGO; POLICE SAY HE WAS ABUSED; CLAIMS TO HAVE PSYCHIC POWERS; DOCTORS ARE TESTING FOR SCHIZOPHRENIA.**_

 _So, the question is,_ thought Hopper, _Is the kid nuts or not?_

He really hoped the kid was lying or imagining things, but after everything he'd seen, he wasn't particularly surprised to see something like this.

I mean, he saw it with his own eyes every day.

In one swift motion, he picked up the newspaper and dropped it into the recycling bin, deciding to forget that he'd ever saw it. _She doesn't need to wonder about that; next thing we know, she'll be begging to visit that crazy sister of hers.._

Of course, in all of the commotion of dramatically terminating the newspaper, Jim didn't notice the line about there being a 010 tattoo on the kid's arm…

* * *

"C'mon, that's cheating!"

"It's not cheating if you don't get caught." Steve popped a chip into his mouth. "Pay up, $500."

Dusting grumbled but forked over $500. Lucas, Mike, El, and Will had already declared bankruptcy, leaving Steve, Dustin, and Max, the banker, on the board.

"Hmm… this is tricky, my friends." Max smiled coyly. "You see.. Dustin here is $100 away from having to declare bankruptcy…"

Steve suddenly looked nervous. Dustin fidgeted in his seat. The rest of the party sat there, enjoying the show.

"And… you owe me $200 rent. You're out, buddy." Max slammed down her cash onto the ground. "Uh-buh-bye, now." Smirking, she turned to Steve, Max asked, "Now, how to eliminate our final victim- I mean, contestant?" El failed to stifle a laugh. Steve looked around anxiously.

"Uh… you know what? I'm out. You won, Mad Max. Bye." He scooted away from the board.

"Aww. You take all the fun out of it." Max pouted as she and Will packed away the game. Meanwhile, El and Mike chatted at the counter.

"You having fun?" Mike raised a dark eyebrow in question. El quickly nodded. She liked freedom. It helped her to feel like she could put her past behind her and just… _be._ Be El (or Jane, depending on who you asked) Hopper, and be okay. She'd never be a normal person, but that was okay.

She could at least try. Nobody would stop her there.

* * *

Across town, Savannah Emily Ulysses was sitting on her purple bed in her white room. In fact, most of the stuff in her new house were white and pristine. It was unsettling to her, but she didn't want to upset her father by saying so. Not only might it hurt his feelings, but he'd ask _why_ she found it so unsettling, and she'd have to explain that it reminded her of the lab, which was like the number one off-limits topic in the Ulysses household.

So instead, she just packed every bit of color she could into the seven walls of her bedroom. She was glad that there were seven walls- seven was her favorite number, after all. Like the one good thing about her past.

It was her lucky number, she was born on July 7th, 1971, there were seven days in a week, seven colors of the rainbow. And seven is a natural number, as she often told herself.

Then there were the bad things about seven.

Seven types of natural disasters, seven deadly sins, and seven days until death if you committed one of those sins…

Then there was Savannah herself.

She was assigned the name Seven, or 007, at a young age.

She was known as experiment #007, which definitely wasn't a good thing.

But she preferred to think of seven as good things, rainbows, and prime numbers, and days of the week.

Sighing, Savannah sat at her spruce-colored wooden desk, opening the first drawer and retrieving a boxcutter from it. She stood again and pulled over a box labeled "VANNA ROOM- DESK," cutting it open slowly. She began to unload the contents neatly into the drawers of her desk. Several minutes later, she looked into the box to see only three things left, the three things that mattered the most:

Her small silver desk lamp, with it's black button at the bottom. She pulled it out of its box, placing it lightly on the desk and plugging it in. She switched the button to **ON,** illuminating the desk, before diving back into the box.

Lying on the bottom, where the lamp had previously been resting atop, was her large, rose gold notebook. It was about a foot long, with 300 sheets of college ruled paper- A.K.A. six hundred pages of whatever she wanted. It had been a birthday/you're free from the lab now present from her aunt Regina. She flipped it open to a new page and set it on the desk, before diving back into the box one last time to retrieve the final item.

It was a framed polaroid of Savannah and her mother, Tessa, taken two years prior, before her mother… well, for lack of a better term, lost it.

Savannah set it next to the lamp, staring at it wistfully, before kicking the box into her closet and retrieving her purple pencil case from the second drawer of the desk. Carefully, she pulled out a long, black pen and began to write in her journal.

_Hey, future Vanna._

_Well, we're here. I finished unpacking my room- finally- today. Daysi came over to help out, but she won't be able to come back until next weekend, because it's her dad's week, so she's back to Indianapolis now. Which sucks, but yeah._

_I start school on Monday. Real school. And I'm not allowed to use my powers, so there's that. I really hope I can find Jane, if she's here at all, but that's it. I just want to make myself known._

_But for all I know, those records I stole were right and she is dead. Which also would suck._

_But yeah._

_Also, I like my new room. It's cute. And it has seven walls._

_And I'm seven. So._

_I think I'm gonna go- I'm hungry._

_Loads of love_

_Savannah, November 1985._

"Vanna! I got dinner for ya down here!" Called her dad, Charlie, from downstairs.

"Coming!" She quickly put her supplies away in their respective drawers, before going downstairs. Unfortunately for her, she tripped on the last stair.

"Shit!" She called, quickly manipulating the gravity force in her body and the air, cleverly enough so that-

"Aha," she positioned herself in the air, and slowly floated down the rest of the stairs.

Straightening her skirt, she lowered herself onto the ground, and strolled into the kitchen, the smell of lasagna filling her lungs.


	2. THE NEW GIRL (pt. 2)

Max and El were walking into the school together, as they always did, Max’s skateboard tucked under her arm. They had the same homeroom and study hall periods, so they arrived and left school together every day. El had a slight air of sadness around her, but she always did; it was the second monday of November: a day that seemed to bring her equal joy and sadness. However, she was twice as quiet as her normal self this morning, and it saddened Max to see it. She hoped she could get a word in with Mike, let him know to cheer up his girlfriend. But she also kind of knew that she didn’t have to. He knew what today was.

 

They all did.

 

Max linked her arm with El’s as they made their way towards their lockers. Hopper had been able to request her to have her locker next to Max’s- easier for her. Hopper had implied that Jane had PTSD when he enrolled her, and made sure that she had at least one of her friends in all of her classes, and the same lunch period as her friends. 

 

El fished around in her backpack, eventually pulling out her bright blue “Hawkins Pride!” school planner. “Oh. Field Hockey practice later,” she monotoned. Max’s brow furrowed. “Is it gonna interfere with-” “No,” El cut her off. “It ends at five.”

 

Max was perplexed. El  _ loved  _ field hockey, it was her favorite club, even over A/V! And they got to play with Dustin, (after many a-riot back in ‘82 to create a unisex team) so it was always extra fun. Plus, the hype for field hockey usually outweighed the looming storm that was every second Monday of the month, at 7:30 PM, rain or shine.

 

So what was up with her? 

 

Shrugging, Max was going to lead El back to homeroom when a voice came up behind her. “Hey, can you tell me where Javier’s classroom is? I have his homeroom.”

 

Max looked up, to see a very tall girl who looked to be about her age with chocolate-brown hair, ocean eyes, and a sharp jawline looking back at her. She momentarily let go of El’s arm.

“Yeah, we have him too. C’mon El-Jane. Jane.” Max grabbed her arm and led Jane and the other girl to room 306.

 

Jose Javier was notorious for his intriguing art classes, kind smiles, and no-nonsense policy when it came to three things: bullying, socks with sandals, and tardiness. A girl, Jenny, had told her that in the bathroom earlier before retreating to her clique shortly. Savannah had looked after her in confusion. She missed being homeschooled- it was so much less confusing.

 

The second she had left the bathroom, she made a beeline towards the first person she saw: a girl with fiery red locks, who was walking arm in arm with another girl with chocolate girls and a sleepy, somewhat sad look that Savannah knew all too well.

 

Why? Because half the time, it was plastered to her face.

 

In homeroom, Savannah learned three things: 1). The girl’s name was Maxine Mayfield, but she wanted to be called Max. 2). She was dating Lucas Sinclair 3). Her friend’s name was  _ Jane Hopper _ .

 

Savannah knew that Jane was a common name, but that was not going to stop her from finding out whether or not this was her long-lost sister; the girl she had been searching for for years.

 

But before she got to that, she didn’t want to be late for math on her first day.

 

She was anyway.

 

She quickly entered the classroom and took a seat. “Ah,” said the teacher, Ms. Oliver, a strict but kind lady in her early 40s. “You must be Savannah! Everyone, this is Savannah Ulysses, a new student. Savannah, what school are you coming from?”

 

Savannah fidgeted. “I was homeschooled last year, but I went to middle and elementary school in Indianapolis, at Ripley Friends.”

 

The class muttered amongst themselves. “Ripley? Where the rich people live?” “Probably, I drove past her new house yesterday- it’s huge!” “Is she one of those snobs that Stacy hangs out with? I hate those girls.” “Don’t judge her just yet… just kidding, do what you want.”

 

It made Savannah very uncomfortable, and she charged forward to look for a seat. The only space available was next to a rather cute young boy with curly hair covered by a red cap. He turned towards her. 

 

“Don’t listen to them- they’re just bored. I’m Dustin,” he extended his hand towards her, and she shook it gratefully, making sure that he couldn’t see her tattoo. He smiled at her brightly.

 

“Savannah.”  _ Oh my god you dumb fuck obviously the whole class just heard the teacher say your name you stupid bitch you just ruined any chance you just had with a cute boy oh my shit you wastoid. _

 

_ Shut up,  _ Savannah thought to herself. The class began to pull out their books, and Savannah did the same, sneaking slight peeks at Dustin while she did.  _ Oh my god stop you’ll be here for the next four years you’ve got plenty of time to flirt just get your shit done. _

 

In Mrs. McKlein’s English class, Mike was staring at El, just a little bit. She looked kind of down in the dumps, even though it technically was…  _ Stop it Mike, you lovesick wastoid. She’s probably just sad that it’s… you know. Besides, she’s probably tired because you kept her up half the night with that goddamn supercom of yours. She’s probably fine. Probably. I mean… probably. _

 

_ Stop saying probably you dumbass.  _

 

“Hey! Savannah, right?” Savannah spun around to the source of the voice. It was Dustin. “Yeah?” she asked, a smile playing on her lips.  _ Did he like her?  _

 

“Do uh- do you have English next?” He asked, straightening his cap. Savannah looked down at the schedule in her hands. “I do, actually!” She said, smiling. “You?” He nodded. “Wanna, uh… walk? Together?” He requested.  Savannah nodded.

 

On the way, Savannah learned seven new things about this new kid. 1) He was friends with Jane and Max, 2) His last name was Henderson 3) he lived a block and a half away from her, 4) He was on the field hockey team with Max and Jane, 5) There was a field hockey team 6) He was on it 7) one of their players had been expelled for doing cocaine behind the school, so they were a player short.

 

Sorry, 8) he wanted to know if she played? Because they did need a new team member.

 

She told him that yes, she’d be happy to join. Which he responded with “There’s  a practice today, at 3:45. See if you can make it,” before taking a seat in the front.

At 3:47, the Hawkins Bulldogs spilled onto the track in hockey gear, running for their lives on their 10 laps around the super-long track.

 

Max and Dustin were making conversation with Savannah, all the while Jane was quite quiet, though nice.

 

“So, what’s Indianapolis like?” Max wondered aloud as they jogged along the red clay circle surrounding the football field. Savannah shrugged.

 

“Big,” she said. “Loads of skyscrapers and tall buildings. Shit tonne of rich people who think that their miniature poodles are better than you.” Max snorted. 

 

“You’re funny, new person,” she decided. Savannah smiled brightly, foregoing her usual  _ I’d-be-happier-if-you-jumped-off-of-a-cliff-and-they-never-found-your-body  _ expression.

 

Or maybe that was just her face.

 

El and Max exited the school as El walked towards her dad’s car. “Hey,” Max called her back. “You sure you’re alright?” asked Max cautiously. El nodded. 

 

“Fine,” she assured her friend. “Promise.” And that was that. She climbed into her dad’s car. “Bye, Max!” 

 

Dustin came out from behind her. “You have to trust her, Max. She can take care of herself.” Max nodded and started to skate home. “Later, Dustard. Later, new girl!”

 

Savannah chose that moment to come out of the school as well, her long chestnut hair in a side braid.

 

"See you!" She called to Dustin awkwardly, hopping on her bike and riding away. Dustin raised in his hand in a half-wave, before mounting his own bike and riding off, trailing her a bit seeing as they lived close to each other.

 

That night, Savannah sat at her desk again, writing to herself.

 

_ Dear future Savannah, _

_ Hey. So… first day of school, and it wasn’t too bad. I mean, I met this somewhat cute guy and joined a field hockey team. And I think I found Jane. But it could be a different one? She was wearing long sleeves; so I couldn’t see her wrist. But… yeah. _

_ So… I found Tegan as well? She was in the principal’s office, getting detention assigned to her, because she started a cult or some shit? Who knows. Anyway. Don’t have much to say, really. I hope things are better for you then they are for me. _

 

_ Savannah E. Ulysses,  November 1985. _

 

Savannah set down her pen and looked out her window at the sign reading  _ WELCOME TO LOCH NORA.  _ She had seen the street Dustin turned down- he probably lived in those smaller houses down the road on South 6th Street. She wished she had moved into one of them instead of the giant house her family had inhabited. 

 

"Hey, Savvy? Dinner's ready?" Came the calls of Savannah's annoying uptalking stepmother, Rachel. Said annoying uptalking stepmother entered Savannah’s room no less than ten seconds later.

 

"Please do not call me that, Rachel," Savannah snarked back, perfectly annunciating every T sound with a sharp tuh.

 

"S-sorry, Vanna?" She apologized.

 

"Or that," Savannah commented back at her. "Savannah is fine, thank you very much." She didn’t even look at the woman.

 

Rachel nodded, heading out of the doorway. "Right.. Uh… whenever you're ready?" She left quietly.

 

Savannah rolled her eyes. "Good riddance..." she put her notebook away slowly, left her room, and indulged herself in a dinner of spaghetti, dirty looks to Rachel, and self-loathing.

 

And thinking about her new friends.

 

She called her best friend, Daysi, later that night.

 

“Hey, Daysi!” Savannah smiled brightly; she had missed her friend.

 

_ “Hey, Vannava,”  _ Daysi said from the other side of the line. Savannah had missed the silly nickname. Plus, it was seven letters, so a win in her book.

 

_ “Sooo, how was the first day?”  _ Daysi inquired. Savannah laughed.

 

“Pretty good, I joined a field hockey team, and made two, possibly three new friends, one of whom is a cute boy-” Savannah cut herself off as she realized what she said. 

 

_ “Ahhh!! Cute boy!? Do tell me more,”  _ squealed Daysi.

 

“I-”

 

“Vanna! It’s late, go to sleep!” Called her father from the other room.

 

Savannah was grateful for the excuse to leave. “Shit, gotta go, it’s nearly 10:30,” she told Daysi.

 

_ “Fine,”  _ Daysi audibly pouted.  _ “But tomorrow, you are telling me every detail about this cute boy.” _

 

Savannah laughed in spite of herself. “Promise. Bye, Daysi.”

 

_ “Later, Vannava.”  _

 

_ Click. _

 

Savannah set the phone down on her desk and crawled into her bed, switching on the lamp on her bedside table. It reflected off a purple light onto the creme-colored walls. She pulled a gray eye mask over her face, settled it on her closed eyes, and rolled over onto her side to sleep.

 

El knocked on the door politely. No sooner than a second later had the woman behind it opened the door and embraced the her.

 

“Hi, aunt Becky,” breathed El.

 

“Hi, sweetie,” said Becky, gripping the girl tightly.

 

It was Visiting Day.

 

“Hey, chief,” Becky saluted the cop behind El. “Coffee?”

 

Jim shrugged. “I wouldn’t say no to a cuppa.”

 

Becky nodded and headed into the kitchen. “Your mom’s in there, sweetie, like always.”

 

“Thank you,” Jane nodded at the woman before heading into the living room and sitting before her mother, who was watching (if you could call it that)  _ Wheel Of Fortune. _

 

“It’s a good show. Sometimes I figure out what they’re spelling before they even buy the vowels.” Jane said to her. As always, it felt strange, like she was talking to herself, but Becky had told her once that deep down, beyond her perpetual dream, Terry could maybe, just maybe hear her.

 

And El held onto that thought like a toddler holds onto a blanket in a storm.

 

“Three to the left, four to the right. Breathe. Sunflower. Rainbow,” muttered Terry to herself. It was always hard for El to hear, but she tried to just block it out and tell her mother about the good, new things in her life.

 

“So… I… got an A on my biology project I was so worried about last month,” Jane laughed to herself, settling on the ground. “Turns out me and my best friend, Max, remember I told you about her? Anyway, we were the only ones from that class- besides Will- to get good grades on it. Everyone else just slacked off, I guess.

 

“I also joined the field hockey team last month- I forgot to mention that when I was here. I like playing sports I think. Good way to get my energy out, I guess. At least, that’s what my dad says.

 

“I think…. I think I’m doing good. I had a sleepover with my friends last Friday. Also, everyone is calling Will my step-brother now as a joke, which is kinda funny, because he probably will be soon.” Jane chuckled to herself. She had practiced what she was going to say all week, but suddenly she was at a loss for words.

 

“I just… miss you, if that’s even possible- missing something you never even had. But I know you missed me, too.”

 

She continued to speak to her mom as the hours passed, until Hopper came in, saying that they had to get going. Jane looked at the clock: 9:30. Shit, it was getting late.

 

“Bye, Mama,” Jane called out quietly as she made her way towards the door, stopping to hug Becky once more.

 

“See ya next month, kid,” Becky told her as they left.

 

“Bye,” El called out.

 

She was quiet in the car on the way home. “Whatcha thinking about, kid? Huh?” Hopper pondered. Jane shrugged.

 

“Just tired,” she told him, averting the question cleverly. Jim nodded. He understood.

 

“Me, too, kid.”

 

Mike was lying awake in his bed, listening to his parents fight. Or more like, his mom was fighting and his dad was kind of ignoring her.

 

“Please, can you come with me just this once!?” Begged Karen through the wall.

 

“For the last time, Karen, I can’t make it; I have a work event that night. I’m sorry, honey, maybe next time.” Ted told her. Karen sighed.

 

“Alright, fine. That’s fine. Goodnight, Ted.” The house went quiet.

 

_ I can hear you, _

_ I can see you, _

_ I can hear you, _

_ I can see you. _

 

Mike’s eyes snapped open.  What was that? A dream? What? Oh god. Was it just a dream? That was so weird! It sounded like it was something speaking to him. Something, not someone, because the voice sounded almost  _ inhuman.  _

 

_ Oh, whatever. Go to sleep, you wastoid. _

 

In Max’s house, a door slammed, disrupting her semi-peaceful resting. Ugh. Her stupid stepfarter- ahem. Step _ father  _ was so loud sometimes! She closed her eyes again and attempted to sleep soundly.

 

“How you like me now, bitch?”

 

Max’s eyes opened abruptly. That wasn’t Neil. However, that was a voice she had heard before, and not since it went back to California on it’s basketball scholarship, back in September.

 

She got up slowly and bolted over to the door the second her feet touched the cold wooden floor, opening the door a crack.

 

Oh,  _ no. _

 

He was  _ back. Actually back.  _

 

_ No. No. No, no, no, no, nonononono he was supposed to be gone! Why is he here now? Why!? _

 

Billy Hargrove, the worst person who had ever been in Max’s life, was standing seven feet in front of her. Max closed the door slowly, climbed over to her bed as another door slammed, and crawled in slowly, grabbing her supercom as she climbed in.

 

She tuned it to the proper channel. ‘Lucas? Do you copy? Over.”

 

The supercom crackled. “Yeah, Max. Over.”

 

She tried, oh how she tried, not to let out the sob building in her throat. “B-Billy. He’s back.”

 

Lucas nearly dropped his supercom. “Oh. Oh my god. Are you okay? Over.” He asked, concerned.

 

“Yeah. I just wanted to let you know, but my mom’s coming. Over and out.” She shoved the supercom onto her bedside table and laid down on her side, pretending to be asleep as her mother opened the door and looked in on her. She even let out a fake snore, which seemed to convince her mom that she was unconscious enough. She closed the door and left.

 

Max buried her face in her pillow and finally let that sob free, as the tears flowed down her cheeks.

 

Oh, god…

 

El’s supercom crackled from her nightstand. “Guys? This is Lucas, do you copy?”

 

El lifted her head from the pillow and rolled over to reach the supercom. “Hey, it’s El. Over.”

 

A second later, two voices announcing themselves to be Dustin and Mike came through. “What’s up? Over.” asked Dustin.

 

“Max just called me,” began Lucas.

 

“Ha, I bet she did,” said Dustin.

 

“No. Not the time. Billy. He’s back. Over.”

 

“Shit,” said Mike and El in unison.

 

“Wait- what? Billy, her abusive brother, who skipped town for UCLA? That Billy? Over.”

 

Mike rolled his eyes. “What other Billy is there? Over.”

 

El bit down on her lip. There was no way in hell that she was gonna let this bully terrorize her best friend, ever again. No matter how many words Joyce through around when she thought nobody was listening.  _ Abusive  _ and  _ racist  _ and  _ violent.  _ She wasn’t afraid of him. Why should she be? And nobody, absolutely  _ nobody   _ hurt her friends and got away with it.

 

Because they were a party, D&D or no. And they stuck together. Always.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you’ll notice that this is more about the kids than it is the adults, as far as this chapter went? This story will be very party-centric (plus Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy, obviously) with some Jopper undertones, but yeah. Also, everyone’s asking me, and yes I am shipping Savannah with Dustin just wait it’ll work out ugghh. Plus, to everyone who’s like how is she number 007 if she’s the same age as El? My theory is that they actually (and for the sake of this story, it’s canon) number the experiments based on when they show their powers. Savannah will explain this in a later chapter. Also, I wanted her to be 007 because she’s a super-badass and she’s gonna kill some people in later chapters. Oops. Spoiler alert. Anywhoo, as always, please review, love you guys, yadda yadda lmao


	3. Chapter 2:Number Seven

In a perfect world, Savannah would never have to interact with anyone.

 

Unfortunately, she learned at the age of ten that that wasn’t an option, so she had to learn to adjust. She had eventually discovered that humans, while annoying, weren’t  _ too  _ bad, although she did have days and times where she wished that they were all extinct.

 

This was one of those times.

 

She had royally fucked up. She had made friends.They were gonna wake up tomorrow and question the universe, they'll be scared of her, or her dad would find out that she told them and move them back to Ripley.

 

It all started Thursday morning.

 

She was walking to her locker, as she always did in the routine she had established over the past week at Hawkins High School. Her locker was also near that of Will Byers, who was friends with Dustin, Max, and Jane.

 

She had still yet to talk to the kid, but whatever. 

 

She reached over to her locker and out flew a note written on lined paper. In red ink wrote “ **WE NEED TO TALK, FLY GIRL. SHOW UP TO THE CLOSET DOWN THE HALL FROM THE CAFETERIA AT LUNCH.** ” Confused, Savannah shoved the note into her bag.  _ Fly Girl?  _ What was that about? 

 

Hmm. She had a theory to test.

 

At lunch period, Savannah crept silently into the closet that the note had indicated, closing the door behind her, sighing. She crossed her arms and swiveled around.

 

“Hello, Teagan,” she monotoned. A snicker sounded from across the dark closet.

 

“Missed me, didya, Sev?” a taunting voice said back. Savannah rolled her eyes

 

“Barely,” she retorted. “In fact, I was a little bit hoping you had died on impact when you jumped from that building.” Teagan’s blue eyes mirrored Savannah’s and they both rolled them in unison.

 

“Where’ve you been hiding, Seven?” Teagan asked quietly. Savannah exhaled.

 

“I… I had  to go into hiding, I’m back here to be further from my mother because my dad thinks it’ll be good for me. And so I can put all that ‘nastiness’ behind me, according to my airhead stepmother,” she explained.

 

Teagan’s eyes flashed. “But you couldn’t let the rest of us know you weren’t dead?” she asked, a little too composed for Savannah’s liking.

 

Savannah closed her eyes and sighed. “I couldn’t have. It’s not like I knew your phone numbers,” she said, shaking her head.

 

Teagan sat on the corner of a box. “But… you were alive. This whole time. I thought…” she trailed off, her voice cracking. “Kali… Eight. She made me see you die. I thought it was real. Until…” She bit her lip, standing. “Until you show up in my fucking Home Ec class and suddenly you’re  _ alive _ ? I mean… I just…” She let a tear loose. “I know it wasn’t your fault. But… Jared. Before he died… he blamed himself. And he was in total denial, too. He thought it was his fault, but he also thought you were still out there.”

 

Savannah stepped closer. “I don’t understand. What did Kali make you see?”

 

Teagan lifted her mascara-streaked face from her hands. “We saw Pa- Brenner. Brenner killed you. Or that’s what Kali made us see.”

 

Savannah fell flat on her ass. “Oh my god. No wonder... he made me see you die, too. I thought... my god."  


 

Wait.

 

“Wait. Jared! He’s dead? How?!” Savannah screamed, then clapped a hand over her mouth. “I thought…”

 

Teagan smiled sadly. “You missed a lot, Fly Girl. He killed himself back in ‘83.”

 

Savannah’s posture drooped. “Why?”

 

Teagan smirked. “You don’t know? You, little miss research?” She snorted. 

 

“‘83 is when the last one of us escaped, genius.”

 

“Who?”

 

“Eleven, of course.”

 

"Right. Ah. So, how do you know about the research?" Savannah asked.

 

"You're not exactly subtle. It was on the Hawkins news report. Someone from Indianapolis hacked into the records with the passcode, "bond007" Figured it was you. Punny enough to be. Now, shoo, shoo, I've gotta fix up my mascara before  someone sees me like this. Ugh." She shuddered and sauntered away, leaving Savannah shell-shocked and alone.  


* * *

 

 

That exchange wasn’t why Savannah was currently standing in a field, about to teach a bunch of kids how to fly. Oh, no no no. That contributed to her getting there, but it wasn’t the full reason.

 

Savannah left the closet in a hurry, before barreling straight into Dustin Henderson in the hallway. “Shit, I’m sorry,” she said, before trying to work her way past him. 

 

“Hey, Savannah! What’s up?” he asked, hardly noticing that she was trying to walk away.

 

“Hey, loser!”

 

They both whipped around at the sound of somebody’s voice. A boy with a nasty expression stood, hands on his hips, with two equally ugly cronies standing behind him.

 

Dustin rolled his eyes. It was obvious he had dealt with this boy before. “What do you want, Troy?” He asked, clearly not wanting to put up with this boy’s assholiness.    
  


Troy snorted. “Not so fast, toothless. Who’s this?” He asked, making his way over to Savannah and flicking a lock of her brown hair. “Oh yeah, the new girl from Indy. Man, you must’ve searched far and wide to find a slut who’d actually put up with ya. When you’re done with her, send her my way,” he snorted. Savannah pulled her knee forward slightly to meet his crotch, and Troy winced.

 

“Listen, dickface. You can go get off on your own stupidity in a corner somewhere, or you can go get off on your own stupidity in a corner somewhere. Honestly, I don’t give a fuck what you do, as long as it doesn’t involve anyone else, and that includes your idiot friends here, who probably haven’t even registered what language I’m speaking right now. Buh-bye now.” She turned to leave when she felt a hand on her breast.

 

“You.. you asshat!” Savannah screamed. Not thinking. Not controlling herself. Not being subtle, Troy suddenly flew into a ceiling beam.

 

_ Did.. did she just… _

 

_ Fuck. _

 

Troy hit the floor, and took off running in the opposite direction, his backup goons in tow. Savannah looked around nervously, noting that there were no other  kids in the hall because of lunch period. 

 

Okay. She was all good. She turned and walked straight into Dustin.

 

Oh. Right.

 

“What- what just happened?!” Dustin sputtered. “Was.. was that you!? Troy just- did you see-” he cut himself off abruptly and gestured to Savannah’s face.

 

_ Fuck. _

 

A trail of blood was exiting Savannah’s left nostril as she wiped it quickly with her finger. “Okay,” she sighed. “Come with me,” she grabbed his elbow.

 

Savannah pulled Dustin into the corridor by the arm, leading them into the utility closet she had sat in moments before with Tegan. She slammed the door behind them. 

 

“My real name.” She looked dead into Dustin’s eyes. “Is not Savannah. That’s a cover-up. I’m pretty sure my real name is Emily, but I actually don’t know, it’s not like I have a birth certificate or anything. My dad always says that Emily is my middle name, and I suppose it is? But when I visited my mom, she called me Emily, so.”

 

Dustin raised an eyebrow. “What are you talking about…?” His face had confusion written all over it.

 

Savanna pressed an ear to the door, making sure nobody was outside, then secured the lock. She turned back to Dustin and pulled up her sleeve, making Dustin gasp.

 

Tattooed on her forearm in black ink, was a small 007. Dustin held up her arm to the light, making sure he wasn’t seeing things. 

 

“You- your name is  _ seven? _ ” Suddenly, everything made sense. Savannah’s random nosebleed, her reluctance to talk about her parents.. Of  _ course.  _

 

But then…

 

“Yes. My name is seven. ‘Savannah’ is a similar name as to not arouse any suspicion. I lived in Hawkins Lab until I was nine, when one day, they let me go. I don’t know why, and my father won’t tell me  _ shit _ . I pieced most of my life story together on my own.”

 

Dustin exhaled slowly. “This is insane. This is insane. Not because of the whole  _ you have superpowers and were raised in a lab  _ thing, but the fact that… One of my best friends is just like you. She’s number-”

 

“ _ Eleven,”  _ Savannah’s eyes grew wide. “I knew it! I knew it! I knew it I knew it I knew it! She actually hasn’t changed much. Just the hair. Last time I saw her, though, she was only nine…”

  
“Wait.” Dustin shook his head. “You know how old she is? How?”

 

Savannah pressed her ear to the door once again. “I did some digging a few years back. Her real name is Jane Ives, she was born November 22nd, which makes her thirteen years old, fourteen next week. Her mom’s name is Teresa Ives, and I couldn’t find shit about her dad, which makes me think he’s dead or he erased himself off of the face of the earth. I found stuff out about all of us. Except 013. She’s in my gym class. I don’t really know anything about her.

 

Dustin shook his head in disbelief again. “There are that many of you?”

 

Savannah rolled her eyes. “No, we were just named after numbers for shits and giggles. No. They’re everywhere, really. Five, is in New York, and one of them, Eight, is somewhere in a gang killing people who do her wrong. Three, Tegan Montgomery, is a senior here, and Eleven is known to us all. The rest… eh. Could be anywhere, technically. The research I conducted to find them all is most likely outdated now.

 

“But Eleven doesn’t remember me, I don’t think, and if she does, she hasn’t said anything, I saw her in field hockey. I really, really hope everything is ok with her, and I always wanted to look after her and keep her safe. Everyone. We didn’t deserve the lives we were left with. I’m glad she seems so happy now.”

 

Dustin nodded. “Ok. I have some questions.”

 

Savannah sighed. “I bet you do.”   
  
Dustin nodded. “Ok. So if you’re Seven, how are you the same age as Eleven? Because she said something about her sister Eight, they’ve met, and she’s older than her. El told us. Aren’t you guys named in chronological order?”

 

Savannah shrugged. “Yes and no. We’re numbered based on how early we show our powers. Eleven must have been late. But I was bobbing around the day I was born. I became 007, the seventh lab rat to show any sign of kinesis. But most kids take a few years. 008 was next, I remember that. But she escaped much sooner. I don’t really remember, but I suppose Jane showed signs of her telekinesis later on.”

 

Dustin nodded. “All right. That makes sense.” Something struck him. “Wait.  _ Bobbing around?! _ ” 

 

Savannah raised an eyebrow. “Don’t look down.” Dustin did anyway

 

“Holy shit!”   
  
He was flying. Like. Legit flying. Suspended in the air but bobbing around the small supply closet. Savannah giggled and joined him, a trickle of blood running down from her nose.

 

“It’s quite fun, isn’t it?” She grinned. “I can control gravity. Always have.”

 

Dustin looked around in wonder. “Wow,” he breathed.

 

Savannah’s grin widened. “It came in handy when I was trying to escape.”

 

Dustin looked at her. “Escape the lab, you mean?” Savannah nodded.

 

“I would show you how to move around a bit more, but it takes practice, and this place is tiny.”

 

Dustin grinned. “After school? We’re meant to meet up with El at her house, but she has this little cabin at the edge of the woods we could go to. Pretty elusive. Plus, she’s gonna wanna meet you.”

 

Savannah’s eyes grew wide. “Really? I thought she wouldn’t want to meet me.”

 

Dustin shook his head. “No! No, of course not. I mean, she was a bit weird around Max for a while, but I think she figured out that Max wasn’t secretly trying to replace her. That and the fact that they have pretty similar fashion taste. But anyways. I think she’ll love to meet you.”

 

Savannah smiled brightly. Dustin noted that she had a very pretty smile, slightly crooked teeth, and a dimple in her left cheek. Looking back at her now, he realized she was very pretty in general. She had long, wavy hair that reached the small of her back, electric blue eyes with long, dark lashes, and pale skin that somehow had a way of looking as though it was once tanned and warm, but also had an unsettling feel to it, as if she’d been locked in a small dark space for extended periods of time as a child.

Which Dustin realized, she probably had been. 

 

She had smile lines to accompany her dimple, and even though she normally had a worried expression, her smile could dazzle a dead man.

 

Dustin shook himself out of his trance.  _ No time to start crushing now, Henderson.  _

 

Savannah slowly lowered them both back to the ground, sniffed and wiped at her node, then grinned again.

 

Dustin let out a low whistle. “Have I mentioned that’s just the coolest?”

 

The girl beamed. “Thank you. I have to say, it is pretty fun.” She tripped over a mop trying to step over to the door. On her way down, Dustin caught her by the arms and pulled her up. They gazed into each other’s eyes for a moment, before the lunch bell blared. Savannah cleared her throat awkwardly and pulled away. “We should probably get going.”She made her way out of the closet carefully.

 

Dustin nodded. “Yeah.” He followed her out of the closet, still gazing at her slightly.

 

He shook his head and charged down the hall after her to find his friends.

 

Before they opened the door to the AV room, Savannah grabbed his arm. “I’ll do the explaining, ok? I don’t want you to get in trouble.”

 

Before Dustin could ask what she meant, she cracked the door open and slid in sideways. 

 

Mike, El, Max, Lucas, and Will were seated on and at the table in the middle of the room, eating. Mike and El were deep in conversation with Will, and Lucas and Max were laughing their heads off. None of them noticed Dustin and Savannah until Dustin cleared his throat. The party looked up.

 

“People of the party excluding Max and El, who’ve met her already, meet Savannah Ulysses, new student, and person who has things to tell you all. Savannah?” He stepped aside to give the party a full view of her. Most of them just nodded their hellos, but El raised an eyebrow.

 

“Sorry I ignored you the other day, I was having a bad day. You… look familiar though.” Was all she said.

 

Savannah looked over to Dustin for support, and he nodded. Savannah inhaled.

 

“I thought I might.” With that, she pulled up her sleeve, exposing the 007 tattoo.

 

Everyone except El stared, slack-jawed, in awe.

 

El stood up, made her way over to Savannah, and wrapped her arms around her waist.

 

Savannah was really tall, almost as tall as Mike, and El was about two heads shorter than her. But they still managed to hug each other and sob silently into the other. 

 

“I thought you were dead,” said El quietly, pulling away from Savannah.

 

Savannah sniffled. “I’m not. And most of us, aren’t dead. We were just lost, is all. But it’s okay now.”

 

El looked up at her. “The bad men can’t hurt us anymore?”   
  
Savannah shook her head, tears rolling down her cheeks. “No. No, they can’t. Because we won’t let them.”

* * *

 

A few hours later, Savannah stood in front of six teenagers whom she’d promised to showcase her powers and explain her story to.

 

“Right,” she said. “So, if you want, I can make you guys float as well, and show you how to control it. You won’t be able to lift yourselves up without my help, but you’ll be able to move around in the air once you get up there.” Nods. Nods. General agreement. “Okay,” Savannah cracked her knuckles, than looked to Dustin for support, who gave her a thumbs-up. “Who wants to go first?” she asked.

 

Max stepped forward. “I’ll go,” she volunteered. Savannah smiled, then shut her eyes. Slowly, Max began to get lifted into the air. Savannah opened her eyes and joined Max in the sky. 

 

“Okay. Concentrate on what you want to do. Think about moving to the left a little. Picture yourself doing it. And then think “move!” and it should work.”

 

Max strained in frustration. “It’s all right,” Savannah told her. “Take your time.”

 

After two hours, everyone had managed to get up into the sky and move around a bit. Savannah was exhausted. Mounting her bike, she waved goodbye to the others and started to ride home.

 

Max left her skateboard on the porch, like she always did, and crept into her room quietly. Ever since Billy had returned, she had done her best to avoid him. She had done pretty good so far.

 

This time, she failed.

 

Billy swung out of his room, an evil smile blooming on his lips. “You’ve ignored me since I’ve gotten back. Didn’t you miss me, Max?” He taunted. Max kept her head down and tried to back into her room. Billy grabbed her wrist. “I’m gonna make your life a living hell, kid,” he promised her. Max finally succeeded in pulling away from Billy and ran into her room, slamming the door behind her. Billy began to laugh.

 

“Fuck off, you psycho!” Max screamed at his retreating back. A door slammed in the hall. Max collapsed onto her bed. She glanced over to the calendar by her window. One week until the Fall Fest that Lucas had promised to take her to. And, as she had found out, three weeks until Billy went back to California. Plus, since he had taken this time off, he wouldn’t be coming for Christmas in a while. 

 

She just had to survive. One. More. Week.

 

And seeing as she had her new flying friend, she figured she’d be able to.

 

* * *

 

_ Dear Future Vanna, _

_ I’m so tired. I helped show my friends- _

 

_ (Oh, my god. Friends. Like plural. Not just  Daysi and Candie.) _

 

_ -how to move around in the skies today. It was amazing. Also, I kinda like eye-locked with Dustin today. I think he might like me. Even stranger, I think I may like him back. _

 

_ Weird, eh? _

 

_ I’m going to bed. It’s been a very very odd day. _

 

_ Night, future Vanna. _

 

_ Savannah Ulysses, November 1985 _

 

Savannah laid back on her bed and sighed, a smile appearing on her lips. God, she was tired.

 

But she was happy, a feeling Savannah had only felt in dreams for the past two years.

 

Will lay in his bed, quietly tracing his finger over his elbow. He had been experiencing a feeling of  _ now what? _ ’ recently. It was November. He was usually possessed by now. 

 

But no. Everything was fine. Yeah, El found out that she had a new sister, but still.  _ He  _ was fine, which was fishy.

 

Oh, whatever. He was tired.

 

_ I see you when you’re sleeping _

_ I know when you’re on time _

_ You better pray I have mercy _

_ Maybe you’ll stay alive _

 

Will, El, Mike, and Savannah, all on their separate sides of Hawkins, bolted awake at the strange singsong that had been piercing their ears. Savannah and Will laid back down, dismissing the noise as a dreamlike mistake. Mike and El, however, looked around their rooms, looking for the maker of said sound.

 

“Strange,” El muttered to herself, before drifting off back to sleep.

* * *

 

 

Teagan had always been told that the world was her oyster. That she could do anything (or anyone) if she put her mind to it. She knew that was who she was, really. She was a fighter. A believer. Somebody who wouldn’t let somebody tell her what she could and couldn’t do. Because she was Teagan Montgomery, and Teagan Montgomery hadn’t escaped that godforsaken lab just so she could be a quitter.

 

That was Jared’s gig.

 

Teagan was used to people calling her a bitch, a whore, a ‘queen bee.’ But Savannah knew better. Savannah knew that she had waited for everyone to escape (sans Eleven, but everyone believed El was dead anyway, so what was the point of waiting for her?) and then left herself.

 

Savannah knew that Teagan was selfless, that she risked her own life to manipulate Brenner.

 

Savannah knew all of her deepest, darkest secrets.

 

And now, Savannah knew that she had gone from strong, powerful Teagan, to a wilting flower, a dead girl walking, after her alleged death and Jared’s suicide.

 

Now, she knew everything. And that meant that she was a threat to Teagan herself. She knew now more than ever that Teagan was a good person.

 

And now, was she exposed or some shit? Was Savannah going to tell Jane who she was? She doubted Jane would remember her, she barely remembered the girl herself.

 

But if  _ Savannah  _ knew now about everything… she needed to really know everything.

 

Teagan sucked at face-to-face confrontation. So instead, she compiled all of her thoughts into a letter; when in doubt, she could write like Alexander Hamilton on crack.

 

_ Dear Savannah, _

 

_ God, I forgot how annoying, sassy, and insufferable you could be. Honestly, I was hoping you were really, actually dead. _

 

_ You watched me jump off of a building in order to escape, and then never saw or heard from me again. _

 

_ Here’s the thing, Fly Girl: You’re too powerful for your own good. You’re not one of the ones that Brenner is still looking for, not because he wants to experiment on you, but because if he saw you, he’d kill you on sight. _

 

_ I don’t know whether or not he’s still alive. I spoke to Kali (008) a few months ago; she met a man that claimed he was still alive and kicking, even after his alleged death. Apparently, Jane (011, but you knew that already.) fought a monster from the Other Place, and sort of sicced it on  _ _ papa ,  _ _ I mean...Brenner.   _

 

_ I think Jared had a sneaking suspicion about those sorts of things. Before he died, his suicide note had something similar to “Brenner is immortal and won’t stop till we’re all back in his clutches.” _

 

_ I don’t really remember. I burned his note a while back. _

 

_ The thing is, Fly Girl, we’re threats, you and me. Brenner won’t stop until he finds us, if he really is alive, because he’s pissed at us for all that he did. Like I said, we’d be shot on sight.  _

 

_ He’s scared of us, of what we can do, of what we’ve seen. He knows we could bring them down in a couple of wayward clicks, in a snap of our fingers. He knows that we could throw him and his men into a wall, or end their lives with a flick of our wrists. That’s why he’s after us. That’s why he wants to kill us, and capture Eleven. He’s a wayward genius, a madman at best, a supervillain at worst. _

 

_ Anyway, I doubt you’ve pieced together everything, even with your research that nearly got everyone found and killed. So I’ll recap the history a bit for you. _

 

_ In 1980, as you know, Brenner let you go, and that’s (I’m guessing) the day he made us believe you were dead, using Kali. She escaped shortly afterwards. I waited for everybody else to escape (with the exceptions of Eleven and Twelve, but twelve is most likely dead, and Eleven was secluded, she wasn’t really known to the rest of us, if you remember)  in 1982, I escaped myself. _

 

_ In 1983, word got out that Eleven had managed to escape. We headcounted, and, lo and behold, she was the final one to get out.  _

 

_ Jared killed himself December 27th. _

 

_ I found him in the bathtub. He had slit his own throat. He was too far gone, and Jina couldn’t save him. _

 

_ Jina ran away, believing it was her fault. I don’t blame her, her twin had just, y’know, died and shit. _

 

_ In ‘84, I got a letter from her. “Kali found Eleven,” she told me. “Find Savannah.” _

 

_ A week later, there was an article in a Chicago newspaper about how a girl with an 006 tattoo found dead in an alley. _

 

_ Jared and Jina dead. Kali, you, and Jane gone. The rest… broken beyond belief. _

 

_ I had to run away. _

 

_ I wish  I could have stayed. Been brave. _

 

_ I found a Thirteenth experiment years later. Stolen, escaped. Free. _

 

_ She’s here now. She doesn’t know that she’s an experiment. No idea where the tattoo came from.  Her biological parents stole her back the day after they numbered her, apparently. She was only seven. Number thirteen, Andi Wendell. (She’s that Chinese girl that Troy Harrington pushed into a locker last week. Y’know, the one who kicked him in the balls.) _

 

_ I’ve got third period now. Hope this clears some stuff up for you. _

 

_ -T.M. _

* * *

 

Savannah stared in shock at the letter in her hand. What in the world did this mean? Who’s Jina? If she was Jared’s twin....

 

Oh.

Number six.

 

Six could heal. People, animals, all of it.

 

God…

 

Savannah shoved the letter into her locker. This was too much for her. She needed to eat.

 

She tried to turn around, away from her locker, and ran straight into Dustin.

 

“Why do we keep doing that?” Dustin laughed. Vanna shrugged. 

 

“I guess while the sky may be made for me, I’m less than elegant on earth,” she mused. Dustin raised an eyebrow. “Eloquent. Are you coming to lunch?” Vanna nodded. Dustin beamed.

 

“Good, ‘cuz it’s pizza day. The only day of the week that the cafeteria food is actually edible. C’mon!”

 

Savannah smiled and followed him down the hall towards the cafe doors. It’ll be so easy to get in, just a couple more steps…

 

Of. Fucking. Course.

 

“Well, well, well. Look what we have here? Round two?”   
  
“I thought you'd have learnt your lesson from yesterday, Harrington. Messing with me has its consequences. And they ain’t pretty,” Savannah snarled.

 

Troy picked an imaginary piece of lint off of his jacket. “Feeling insecure, Um.. James. What’s her last name again?”

 

“Uh… Underwood? Up-Upton? It’s Upton.”

 

“Ulysses, you imbeciles.”

 

“Ulysses! Feeling insecure, Ulysses?” Troy ran a hand through his hair. Savannah smirked, seeing her chances.

 

“No, but you seem to be.”

 

“What?”

 

“You’re fidgeting, picking at imaginary spots, playing with your hair…all signs of wanting to be in control,” She said.

 

“I’m just thinking about all the things I’d love to do to you. Don’t mind me.”

 

“So why you here? Come to cry about your mommy and daddy troubles? How they’re never in town? Pissed ‘cuz your brother isn’t a piece of shit anymore, you haven’t got anyone to laugh at rape jokes with?” Dustin retorted.

 

Savannah raised an eyebrow. Low blow, Dustin. Impressive, though.

 

Troy laughed. “This is your last chance, Underwood.”

 

“Ulysses.”

 

“Whatever. I’ll let you be my bitch for a week, who knows what’ll happen? Maybe you’ll get popped with the cool girls and get any guy you want. Or maybe you can chill with Henderson and his geek squad and never have any other friends again. Your decision.”

 

“Did you forget what happened yesterday? How bout this time, I take  care to break your neck?”

 

“That- that was you!? Jesus Christ, I thought that season I spent in purgatory would have prevented any other weird shit from happening to me!”

 

Troy,  James, Savannah, and Dustin looked into the camera.

 

“Anyways, I’m not afraid of you. I’ll just fuck up Henderson here, and you won’t have a rebound guy anymore.” With that, Troy was tossed up into the air like a limp rag doll. He landed flat on his ass, howling in pain.

 

“Fuck this shit! I’m going to HBO!” He screamed as he ran away. “At least THEIR shows don’t all get canceled after one season,” he grumbled under his breath.”

 

Dustin and Savannah exchanged confused glances. “Let’s just go to lunch,” Savannah said, shaking her head.

* * *

 

Will grabbed El by the arm and led her into the bathroom, quick as a flash.

 

“Will. This is the girl’s room, you can’t be in here,” remarked Savannah, confused, as she emerged from a stall.

 

“Oh, good, you’re here, too. Listen, I’ve been hearing things. Strange things. Like… I’ll be lying in bed, asleep, and I start to hear these odd voices. High… and cold. And they say the creepiest things.”

 

“Like twisted nursery rhymes threatening your safety?” Asked El calmly.

 

Will’s eyes widened. “ _ Yes.” _

 

“Mike and I have been hearing them, too!” El exclaimed.

 

“So have I! I figured it was just a recurring nightmare,” Savannah said.

 

“Maybe… tonight, we could have a sleepover, the whole party. See if it happens. Savannah, can you do that?”

 

Vanna nodded. “My dad’ll just be happy I’ve got friends to hang out with,” she beamed. “This is the first time I’ve ever been invited to anything, so this is awesome!”

 

El grinned. “All right. Will, can you host? But… maybe we shouldn’t tell your mom about our plan.” 

 

Will mimed zipping his lips and tossing away the key. “I don’t want her to worry.”

 

El nodded, than looked over to Savannah. “Should.. Should we tell her that you’re 007?” 

 

Savannah pursed her lips. “You already told your dad, right?”

 

El nodded. “He choked on his coffee.”

 

“As long as Mrs. Byers doesn’t say anything to my dad, It’ll be okay. I don’t want him to know that I’ve been telling anyone.”

 

Will nodded. “Okay. My place, six o’clock?” The girls smiled and returned his nods.

* * *

 

“Dad?” Savannah called as she entered her house that afternoon. 

 

“I’m in my study, Vanna!” He called back.

 

She slid across the marble floor into the home office. “Hey, so I was invited to a sleepover tonight. Can I go?”

 

Charlie shrugged. “I don’t see why not. Will there be boys?”

 

Savannah bit her lip. She hadn’t thought of that. “The girls outnumber the boys. And they’re all nice. Plus the parents will be there and we’ll all be in the living room. And it’s not like any of them are dating each other,” she lied.

 

Charlie considered. “All right. Whose house are you going to be at?”

 

“Will Byers’. His mom is Joyce Byers.”

 

“Okay. Where do they live?”

 

“Mirk-um, a little bungalow on the edge of the woods,” she explained.

 

“Okay. When will you be back tomorrow?”

 

“Eleven o’clock AM. That okay?”

 

Charlie smiled. “I’m so glad you’re making friends, Vanna. Have a good time!”

 

Savannah went up to her room and called Max on her extension.

 

“Hey Max, it’s Savannah,” she began.

 

_ “Oh, hey! Are you coming to Will’s house?”  _ She asked.

 

“Yeah! I’m really  excited.”

 

_ “You should be. These sleepovers are usually party-only. I guess that means you’re one of us now, huh?” _

 

_ One of us.  _ Vanna liked how that sounded.

* * *

 

There was no way to prepare Mrs. Byers.

 

“You mean that there’s… more, like her?” She asked with wide eyes. Will nodded.

 

“Her name’s Savannah, and she’s coming over for the sleepover, so you’ll get to meet her.” Joyce smiled. She wanted to make this poor girl feel welcome. God knows what she’d been through in the past.

 

“All right. I’m excited to meet her!” As if she were Beetlejuice or some other villain relating to Winona Ryder, a knock came to the door, and El looked through the peephole.

 

“That’s her,” she said, opening the door for her sister. Unfortunately, Savannah dropped her black-and-white overnight bag onto her own foot, startled by El.

 

“ _ Merda!”  _ she cried, then realized what she’d done, and bit down on her lip. “Oh my god. I’m sorry! Please tell me none of you speak Italian.”

 

Joyce laughed and helped her pick up the bag. “I’m guessing that wasn’t the kindest word in the book?”

 

Savannah shook her head. “No…” She stuck out her hand, attempting to start over. “Savannah Ulysses, pleased to meet you!”

 

Joyce returned her handshake, still grinning. “Is Ulysses an Italian name?” She asked.

 

“Uh… no, actually, it’s Latin, my dad’s. But DiAngelo is my mom’s last name, and she was Italian. But obviously I had to change my name when… Oh. Sorry, did Will tell you? God, I’m making a mess of myself, aren’t I?” She rambled.

 

Joyce laughed. “No, no, don’t worry. And yes, he did. I’m glad you’re here with us now, Savannah.”

 

Savannah smiled, a half-grin, half-smirk with genuine mirth in her eyes. “Me, too.”

* * *

 

After  all of the others had arrived, several hours, games of truth or dare, movies, and Hobbit puns later, Savannah laid in her purple sleeping bag, allowing herself to drift off, practically forgetting the real reason she was at this sleepover, in the midst of all the laughter and arms draped over shoulders, everything.

 

_ All the ones that I want, _

_ Together in one place. _

_ Perhaps I can rip you up, _

_ Take the eyes out of your face. _

 

_ You won’t live long if you don’t obey, _

_ So listen well and good. _

_ When sunlight comes, the games begin, _

_ So do what I say you should. _

 

Seven teenagers bolted upright in their sleeping bags, eyes wider than saucers.

 

Savannah and El’s eyes met across the room.  _ Merda  _ indeed.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merda's the italian word for shit, if anyone's wondering. Savannah speaks a bit of Italian in her backstory one-shot, too, so.


End file.
